Voices From Inauguration Day 2017

Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States this morning at 9 a.m. Pacific Time. In urban centers of the state, the event has been occasioned by protests, walkouts, and other planned rallies and demonstrations. These precede what is expected to be the largest inauguration-related demonstration in history set for tomorrow, when large crowds are expected to convene in cities around the world for marches in support of women’s rights and equality. Organizers for Seattle’s event expect 50,000 participants

Outside of the liberal stronghold of Seattle, in more rural areas, Trump supporters are celebrating. Hear from residents of outlying areas who are optimistic about the next four years and the campaign trail promises of President Trump.

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When Sydnee Wade looks at the anti-Trump protests in Seattle, she understands. She doesn’t agree — she’s a lifelong conservative and voted enthusiastically for Trump — but remembers her own devastation when Barack Obama was reelected in 2012. “My heart goes out to them,” she says with all sincerity. “It really does.”

Wade moved to Stanwood, just north of Everett, from Idaho six years ago with her husband, an engineer at Boeing. They are both Mormons, but Wade says that doesn’t necessarily drive her vote; she thought Mitt Romney’s public castigation of Trump was pandering to his religious colleagues. “My religion is my religion and that’s between me and God,” she says. When asked about Trump’s boasts of sexual assault, she says it didn’t change how she viewed his ability to lead. “If I go to a car mechanic, I don’t care if they smoke or drink. I want to know he’ll fix a car.”

For her, Trump’s promise of fewer regulations and lower taxes, paired with her beliefs that neither abortion nor marijuana should be legal, outweighs any concerns about his speech.

As we’re talking on the edges of Lake Goodwin, we stumble across a swastika, spray-painted on the sidewalk. When asked if she agrees that Trump has brought out this side of America, she says no, saying it’s always been there, we just haven’t noticed. It disgusts her. “That’s not America.”

Keith Westlund voted for Barack Obama twice and for Bill Clinton in the ‘90s. This time around, he was leaning Bernie Sanders until he lost in the primaries. But when it came to the General Election, he hemmed and hawed and couldn’t seem to get behind Hillary Clinton. After days of consternation, he went for Donald Trump.

We find him sitting in his county van, listening to Trump’s Inauguration Day speech. He’s killing time before checking the levels at Lake Goodwin in Stanwood.

Westlund went to high school nearby, at Marysville-Pilchuck, and keeps in touch with many of his classmates. Of his friends, he estimates maybe 60 percent were like him — leaning Bernie Sanders before committing to Trump.

He describes his vote as reluctant and acknowledges full well it could go badly. “I try to vote for the person I think is going to do the best for my personal values,” he says, “and those change over time.”

Westlund’s worked for Snohomish County for 34 years and has seen some things change over time. In contrast to the protests of Seattle, he doesn’t seem to place as much significance on this election. Moments after Trump officially became President, he looks up. “The sky hasn’t fallen yet,” he says before donning his waders to measure the lake.

“Bold and crazy” is how Craig Lamb describes the incoming Trump administration. That’s just how he likes it — a man who wields an axe, not a scalpel. “I think he wants to call out waste,” he says. “For every new law they pass, they’ve got to get rid of two.”

He only caught the first half of Trump’s Inauguration Day speech and recorded the rest for later. As he sips his coffee in the Sultan Bakery, he’s pleased as can be.

When asked about the protests in Seattle and protestors’ worries for the changes to come, he’s not conciliatory in the least. “They need to be worried,” he says. “Trump’s going to be bold.”

Linda Shines is only 4'10". She’s the manager of the Sultan Bakery and is busy keeping the coffee warm, chatting away. The bakery is a cornerstone coffee shop, filled with locals and travelers on Highway 2. Eavesdropping is the rule here and as we talk about Trump’s inauguration, the clientele is all too happy to jump in.

Shines, for her part, tries to steer away from politics. She, like most of the diners in the bakery (which also serves sandwiches and fries), voted for Trump. But it’s her husband, not her, who’s enthusiastic to start the conversation. While she says, eventually, that she didn’t trust the whole lot of the presidential candidates, she’s too focused on clearing plates and collecting checks to dwell too much on the dramatic change that came to America at noon Eastern time.

Nicole Tucker grew up in Sultan and lives there still. When it comes to its population, she’s blunt: “There’s a lot of prejudice here.” She recalls a crime recently against a resident whom she calls “the only gay man in town.” He left his home one day. When he returned, it was in flames, torched, she says, by local citizens.

Another time, a black man was riding a horse down the main drag. He was pulled from the saddle and beaten.

She’s a Trump supporter. The vast majority of Trump’s opponents have blamed him for an increase in these kinds of crimes and when asked if she agrees, she didn’t deny it as one might expect. “I think he’s kind of encouraged it,” she says.

Editor’s note: This story originally stated as fact the story of the beating of a black man in Sultan. KCTS 9/Crosscut has not been able to verify the story.

Troy Quinlevan says he is scared of a Muslim invasion — similar, he says, to the genocide that was visited upon the Native Americans by European settlers. “We were the invaders,” he says, “and now there’s another invasion.”

He’s a Trump supporter. And while he talks of jobs and good deals, it’s this fear — often referred to on far-right and white supremacist websites and talk shows as “Christian genocide” — that seems to drive his support for Trump the most.

When asked, however, about the Muslims he knows personally, he calls them “some of the best people,” referring specifically to four whom he works with in Spokane. It’s a common refrain — reflecting a literal demagoguery that’s become more pervasive over the last year: when asked about the broad Muslim population, he talks about stabbings and rapes, but when asked to draw upon personal experience, his stories are, in fact, positive.

David Kroman is the city reporter for Crosscut.com. A Bainbridge Island native, David has also worked as a teacher, winery cellar hand, shellfish farmer and program director of a small non-profit. His Twitter is @KromanDavid and his email is david.kroman@crosscut.com.

Matt Mills McKnight is a visual storyteller and journalist who covers a variety of political, social and environmental issues in the Pacific Northwest. He enjoys finding stories in his own South Seattle neighborhood, as well as researching projects throughout the rest of the city and region that he believes will inspire thought and discussion among viewers. Matt joined the KCTS 9 team in December, 2016. Previously he was a photo editor at MSN News and a freelance photojournalist covering many of the region's major news stories for a variety of news organizations.